A hearty, warming, slow-cooked beef casserole filled with the flavours of smoky pancetta, earthy chestnut mushrooms and shallots plumped with the stewing juices is the best gift you can give to yourself for supper during these cold evenings.

A hearty, warming, slow-cooked beef casserole filled with the flavours of smoky pancetta, earthy chestnut mushrooms and shallots plumped with the stewing juices is the best gift you can give to yourself for supper during these cold evenings.

I always make this casserole the day before I am going to serve it as the flavours mature overnight. I add Guinness, but you can swap it with red wine or beef stock. The herby potato dumplings are a must on top, as their bottom half soaks up all the delicious juices from the casserole and the top gets lovely and crispy. As a side dish, I like to serve slices of roast butternut squash tossed in olive oil, ground cumin and garlic.

Method

2. Sprinkle the beef with flour and season with salt and pepper, toss to coat. Place a casserole dish over a medium heat and melt 40g of the butter. Brown the beef and transfer to a bowl.

3. Stir in the shallots and pancetta and cook for five minutes. Remove and add to the beef.

4. Add another 40g of butter, then the mushrooms, garlic and chestnuts and cook for two to three minutes. Then add all the ingredients back into the casserole dish.

5. Pour in the stout, beef stock, thyme and grated chocolate, bring to the boil and reduce the heat. Cook in the oven for an hour.

6. To make the dumplings, boil and drain the potatoes, season, add butter and herbs and mash well. Stir in the flour and combine. Mould the mixture into six dumplings.

7. Make a roux by melting 50g of butter, then stirring in 50g of flour. After the casserole has cooked for an hour, remove it from the oven, strain all the liquid from it into the roux, and slowly whisk until the sauce is thick. Then pour it back into the casserole.

8. Add the dumplings to the top so it's completely covered and cook in the oven uncovered for 35 minutes.